The grove – or forest? – has taken some work this spring. It’s getting big!
Because of my age and my very slender “skill-set”, I may soon have to let go of it all. I’ve known that for a while; this boom season has confirmed it. I’d love to expand my moso, keep it as a reserve - but it probably should pass to new owners who have the energy, capital and ability to take it to commercial levels. (I’m someone for whom “commerce” and “industry” are two of the noblest words in the language. It’s just that I’m not terribly good at either.)
In recent posts I’ve remarked on the need to understand the species not in theory but in place. The place is called Dondingalong, the grove is in ex-dairy “tallowood” country between the Pacific and the Great Divide, and it swarms with hungry, brawling possums and rapacious wallabies. The good seasons that bring rain also bring strong southerly winds at shooting time; the sun is strong, the frosts can be sharp.
I know how to help moso along in this country.
But a large and mature grove needs professionals. For example: here’s a guy in Anji, China, who can cut a moso pole with professional ease and speed.
Er, I can’t do that.
Here’s a guy who harvests a fat moso shoot the way I should be doing it.
This is an inspiring story of an early planting of moso in Louisiana. I just hope these people realise that an untidy leaning pole, even if dead, may be helping to support heavy new culms in their first year. But I’m not certain of my theory, and I do love the open effect resulting from such tidiness…so just enjoy.
Enthusiasts have one thing in common with professionals. We can be bitchy. I just fancy that my biggest poles and shoots are a touch superior to the biggest ones shown in these films. And my grove hasn’t peaked yet!
Of course, I would say that, wouldn’t I?
It looks like you have an ideal climate to grow moso bamboo. Have you ever tried the moso bicolor type or other variagated moso forms?
http://stevesbamboogarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/heating-up-bamboos-with-grass-clippings.html
Here’s my moso bicolor.
I’m trying to make it produce as many culms as possible and take up lots of space to create a forest like yours.
Hi Steve. I have a common painted bamboo, a clumper which finds the winters a bit hard and would probably enjoy lighter soil. I keep it because it has a particularly fine “paint” to it, but I dare say the moso will soon shade it out. As to your coloured moso, all I can say is “wow”.
I understand why you concentrate on warming the young ‘boo. Upstate NY may be just a bit high-latitude for moso, though it can take snow and frost, so who knows? I feel the East Coast of the US should be a good biome, though the southern latitudes may be more favourable.
I’ve seen moso growing in the Bearn region of France, which reminds me of my own region, with a maritime climate and acidic soils. I noted, however, that it wasn’t big and forest-forming like my stuff. I’m very lucky to have the soil, climate and geography that favours maximum growth, but how do we know the bicolour isn’t well suited to your region? And once it starts to make its own little climate it may well forest-up, so to speak. The thought of a forest of variegated moso is kind of staggering for this moso freak.
Rob
I’m located in zone 6a where temperatures usually drop down to around -16C so moso bicolor shouldn’t be able to reach it’s maximum proportions, but I just saw that you’re selling your grove. I do a lot of pampering to warm up the temperature in any way possible because we are in a very cold climate up here.
If a variagated kind of moso is available in Australia, you could probably try that out instead.
Steve, some of the keenest moso enthusiasts are Germans who can only grow small specimens in pots. It seems satisfaction does not depend on size. Having it full-sized is, of course, thrilling, but people with such an opportunity may be less inclined to tinker with unusual strains and growing methods, the way you do. All my energies go on protecting hundreds of succulent new giants from wind, animals and hungry Aussie wildlife. Fortunately, I’ve learned how to do all that, but it leaves me with little energy to do the ingenious stuff I read about on your blog. I do hope you persist with your cold climate moso.
Incidentally, on the subject of maximum proportions, I was obliged to cut a couple of new, full-grown giants today. Measuring was awkward since I had to cut them up to get them right down, but one of them seemed to be about ninety feet!I have others in the grove which are bigger again, but there’s no way of measuring them. And no way I’m cutting them down.